Question is who starts in his place. Normally, it would be Snow, but the fact that he hasn't played in two games and he didn't come in when Hughes was injured yesterday suggests otherwise. Gibson is the obvious choice, but Brown may want to bring him off the bench because of the rookie factor. That suggests Damon Jones, although he lacks the defense that Brown likes.

I'd start Snow. You're going to need him now. Go back to him in the starting lineup, build hid confidence back up after sitting him for the 1st two games in his career essentially. The rest of the starters are comfortable playing with him, as he started for a long period of time.

Put Snow on Chauncey, who rarely challenges early in games. He paces himself to be a threat late.

And I'd be ready to go to Boobie early, 5-6 min into each half.

Who this puts the onus on is Sasha. Hes gotta be able to hang with Rip now. We saw bad Sasha in game one, good Sasha last night. We need good Sasha now, as we won't have Larry to move over to check Rip.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

Tough break for Larry, but a great opportunity for Boobie. He's playing with a lot of poise and doesn't look like a rookie out there. The Pistons will try to back him down in the post, so he'll need some help. But if he gets hot from the 3-point line it adds a huge dimension to the offense.

As much as Hughes is a cipher on offense, this is a problem. I thought the Cavs really turned the corner defensively when they started playing Hughes and Pavlovic together. That made them very long up front and really disturbed passing lanes. The danger with playing Gibson is you risk the chance that a guy like Billups might get on track. The danger with playing Snow is, well, he stinks. That and the fact the lane will have all Piston personel, including cheerleaders in it. As good a defender as Snow is, the Cavs best defensive team is with Hughes, Pavlovic and Lebron.

If it were me, I'd roll the dice and play Gibson. The reason being, in my opinion, they only win this series should Lebron have monster games like the last one. If Snow is playing 30 minutes, that is going to be awfully tough. The Pistons don't respect him for a second on O. 4 on 5. I think Gibson is at least a threat from the perimeter.

I'd play Gibson. He brings energy out on the floor with him and is very active on defense. My concern is that Snow slows things down too much, though that's not as big an issue against Detroit. They're not exactly superfast at any position.

I'd be more inclined to activate Shannon Brown due to his athleticism, but he's gotten so little time this season that I'm not sure how good of an idea that'd be, but Wesley hasn't exactly been stellar this year either. I think Brown can bring stronger defense off the bench and can drive if givn the chance, but Coach Brown has been reluctant to give him any time this year, a fact that pisses me off.

Larry Hughes has done nothing on offense this series anyway. If anything, he's shooting too much...and we all know that Eric Snow does not do that. I say you go with Snow. Reason why we've been owning Detroit is because of the defense we've been playing on Billups. We've shut down their most important player. You let him back in it, and who knows where these games go.

I'm not knocking Boobie, because he played great. And he definitely needs to be out there playing big minutes. But I think you need to get on Billups early, then let Boobie come in and play him when he's out of rhythm. (Although the dude made 2 huge shots on Sunday after going 1 for 10, so who knows if that will really happen)

I was personally very confident about this game until I heard Larry was down. He was our starting PG for 3 months. Thats not easy to recover from.

Ya know, I get on Hughes a lot....but I think this injury hurts the Cavs more than people are willing to admit. Mostly defensively, as Hughes has been one of the big reasons Rip and Chauncey have had so much trouble scoring these first three games, and the TOs by Chauncy as well.

Offensively, I don't think we will miss much from Hughes, 'cept for his ability (when he tries) to dribble penetrate and create. Now we are left with really Lebron doing all the creating and four statues on the floor spotting up for shots.

Going to be interesting to see how Rip/Chauncey perform tonight with no Hughes in there.....and also how effective Boobie is playing extended minutes. Sometimes it can work against you playing more time, as warts can be exposed. Also, we lose some firepower off the bench.

Tonight is a huge game. I expected to win Game 3.....but tonight is the one that makes this a series again or we get the golf clubs shined up and ready for a lot of use this offseason.

Consigliere wrote:Ya know, I get on Hughes a lot....but I think this injury hurts the Cavs more than people are willing to admit. Mostly defensively, as Hughes has been one of the big reasons Rip and Chauncey have had so much trouble scoring these first three games, and the TOs by Chauncy as well.

Offensively, I don't think we will miss much from Hughes, 'cept for his ability (when he tries) to dribble penetrate and create. Now we are left with really Lebron doing all the creating and four statues on the floor spotting up for shots.

Going to be interesting to see how Rip/Chauncey perform tonight with no Hughes in there.....and also how effective Boobie is playing extended minutes. Sometimes it can work against you playing more time, as warts can be exposed. Also, we lose some firepower off the bench.

Tonight is a huge game. I expected to win Game 3.....but tonight is the one that makes this a series again or we get the golf clubs shined up and ready for a lot of use this offseason.

Feh...

Gibson has talent. he's no longer a rookie by this time in the season. They do need a quick trigger to Snow if he gets baked early, but I like the move. Will Tra be active? Or Shannon?

The Cavs rise or fall on whether we see game 3 Bron or games 1 & 2 Bron. He has to wake the hell up in quarter 3.

These Pistons are so beatable it hurts.

Let me add that this is a complicated injury, isn't it? Can we get Doc Stank in here? This may linger far longer than just this playoffs for Laura.

That's the mantra for the entire playoffs really. The teams are watered down right now in the East, and I think when the dust settles that the ONE team we matchup well with in the West could be the team we play in the Finals.

Our chance is this year. I don't want to hear any crap that if we lose a message has been sent that the Pistons time might be about over. This is the Cavs time to go get it, because going into next year and beyond there is absolutely no guarantees with the Cavs. I'm sure after the Cavs lost to the Bulls in the 92 EC Finals we all though they would make several more runs and that the Bulls were getting old.....next thing you know Nance and Daugherty can't stay healthy and retire prematurely. And, Chicago is young and hungry....and Miami could be back with a fully healthy Wade....and who knows if any other teams in the East improve.

Tony wrote:I think when the dust settles that the ONE team we matchup well with in the West could be the team we play in the Finals.

...? San Antonio has had the series out West under control since before it began. I'm not sure if you are inferring we match up well with them, or the “down 3 games to 1” Utah Jazz, but it doesn't matter. San Antonio would/will dispatch of this Cavs team in five games if we get there.

You keep talking about how this is our chance, etc, etc. Well yeah, it is our chance to beat the Pistons, but it sure as hell is not our chance at an NBA title.

Using this data in the way you are is very difficult to say the least. Sample size can and does really skew 5 man stats, especially when you use win % as your measure of success (as you are). If you really want to compare the various lineups I am a fan of presenting the entire picture and I value +/- rankings above win % rankings.

It’s hard if not impossible to call a 5 man unit the team’s best because they managed a 94% win share in 56 minutes.

Tony wrote:I think when the dust settles that the ONE team we matchup well with in the West could be the team we play in the Finals.

...? San Antonio has had the series out West under control since before it began. I'm not sure if you are inferring we match up well with them, or the “down 3 games to 1” Utah Jazz, but it doesn't matter. San Antonio would/will dispatch of this Cavs team in five games if we get there.

You keep talking about how this is our chance, etc, etc. Well yeah, it is our chance to beat the Pistons, but it sure as hell is not our chance at an NBA title.

I was implying that the one team we matchup really well with in the West is San Antonio. I like our chances a ton more against them than if Phoenix or Dallas made it to the Finals.

THis may not be our only chance, but it may be our best (easiest) shot at the Finals and a championship.

JB wrote:In no scenario did I see Larry Hughes as capable of taking The Needle for the team.

I don't care what else he does or how bad his contract is. I'm off his shit because he showed me heart.

Next you're going to tell me your going golfing with BE.

I'm serious. I love the heart that showed. Hughes' game has some flaws, and he'll never be that Pippin guy (might Gibson?) , but if he keeps playing while the shot works like a mini-Willis Reed, how can you not respect that?